Department: History and Philosophy of Science
Contacts
Office: Building 200 Room 33
Mail Code: 94305-2024
Phone: 650-725-0714
Email: rrogers@stanford.edu
Web Site: http://HPS.stanford.edu
The Program in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) teaches students to examine the sciences, medicine and technology from a number of perspectives, conceptual, historical and social. The community of scholars includes core faculty and students in History and Philosophy and affiliated members in Classics, Anthropology, English, Political Science, Communication, and other disciplines. Together, they draw upon the multiple methods of their disciplines to study the development, functioning, applications, and social and cultural engagements of the sciences.
Stanford's Program in History and Philosophy of Science is a collaborative enterprise of the departments of History and Philosophy. Each department has its own undergraduate and graduate degree programs in this area, but these overlap and interact through the structure of requirements, advising, team-taught courses, an active graduate student community and a shared colloquium series.
The program's courses span from antiquity to the late 20th century, with emphasis on:
ancient science
Renaissance science
the Scientific Revolution
Enlightenment and transatlantic science
history of medicine and the body
history and philosophy of biology
history and philosophy of modern physics
history of the philosophy of science from the early modern period to the present
central issues in contemporary philosophy of science
gender, science, and technology
Undergraduate Degrees
HPS offers undergraduates the opportunity to study science, medicine and technology by combining scientific and humanistic perspectives in a single program. Students can pursue HPS through the two departments (History and Philosophy) that coordinate this interdisciplinary program. The HPS Program offers students an in-depth understanding of the nature and evolution of scientific ideas, practices, and institutions; their contemporary significance to intellectual life; and their material transformation of the modern world.
The Department of History offers an interdisciplinary track in History of Science, and Medicine. This track is especially well suited to students who wish to combine history and science, or who are interested in studying the history of science and medicine in combination with premed science requirements in preparation for a future career in medicine and public health.
The Department of Philosophy offers a special program in History and Philosophy of Science. This program is especially well suited to students who want to combine their concentration in Philosophy with the study of science and its history.
Students interested in HPS should contact the faculty advisors (in 2022-23 Jessica Riskin for History and Michael Friedman for Philosophy) to discuss the undergraduate program.
Graduate Degrees
Graduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science can pursue a Ph.D. either in History, through its Ph.D. concentration in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, or in Philosophy, through its Ph.D. subplan in History and Philosophy of Science. Diplomas will be issued by the respective departments, but the HPS study will not be noted on the transcript nor on the diploma.
Graduate students in the Program in History and Philosophy of Science that wish to pursue a Ph.D. in Philosophy must fulfill Departmental degree requirements and the following requirements:
1. HPS colloquium series attendance
2. One of the following graduate level Philosophy of Science courses: 263, 264, 264A, 265, 265C, 266, 267A or 267B
3. One elective seminar in the history of science
4. One elective seminar (in addition to the course satisfying requirement 2) in philosophy of science
Philosophy Ph.D. students declaring the HPS subplan in Axess will have it appear on the official transcript but is not printed on the diploma.
The Program in History and Philosophy of Science degree requirements for the Ph.D. in History of Science, Medicine and Technology, in addition to the general History Department Ph.D. degree requirements, are:
1. HPS colloquium series attendance
2. the History Department core seminar in History of Science, Medicine and Technology
3. Four other courses in the history of science, technology and/or medicine
4. One course in the philosophy of science
5. Four additional courses in a given geographical or national field of research, one of which must be a core course
The courses described above must include two research seminars, at least one of which must be in the history of science, technology and/or medicine. Students are expected to write papers on substantially different topics for each seminar. You should also aim to present your research at the annual meeting of a professional society associated with the history of science, technology and/or medicine sometime during your third or fourth year. For more information, see the program's web site.
Faculty
Co-chairs: Paula Findlen (History), Michael Friedman (Philosophy)
Directors of Graduate Studies: Paula Findlen (History), Michael Friedman (Philosophy)
Committee-in-Charge: Paula Findlen (History), Michael Friedman (Philosophy), Reviel Netz (Classics), Robert Proctor (History), Jessica Riskin (History), Thomas Ryckman (Philosophy)
Program Committee: Paula Findlen (History), Michael Friedman (Philosophy), Tom Mullaney (History), Reviel Netz (Classics), Robert Proctor (History), Jessica Riskin (History), Thomas Ryckman (Philosophy), Londa Schiebinger (History)
Professors: Keith Baker (History), Paula Findlen (History), Michael Friedman (Philosophy), Gabrielle Hecht (CISAC, History), David Holloway (History, Institute for International Studies, Political Science), Reviel Netz (Classics), Robert Proctor (History), Jessica Riskin (History), Londa Schiebinger (History), Fred Turner (Communication), Richard White (History), Caroline Winterer (History)
Associate Professors: Thomas Mullaney (History), Lochlan Jain (Anthropology), Priya Satia (History)
Professor (Teaching): Thomas Ryckman (Philosophy)
Professor (Research): Rega Wood (Philosophy, emerita)
Senior Lecturer: Paul Edwards (STS)
Other Affiliation: Henry Lowood (Stanford University Libraries), Larry Lagerstrom (UAR)
Visiting Scholars: Adrienne Mayor (Classics)